Cold case murder rewards now $500k
Mentions: Frank Campbell, Irma Palasics, Kathryn Grosvenor and Susan Winburn Publication: ABC News (Australia) Date: 7 September 2012 (updated 10 September 2012) Author: Gordon Taylor Original: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-07/act-murder-cold-case-rewards-increased/4248660 ---- ACT homicide detectives say they are close to solving four of Canberra's most gruesome murders and are calling on the public for help in finding the final clues needed to convict the killers. The brutal murders of Irma Palasics, Susan Winburn, Frank Campbell and Kathryn Grosvenor are being investigated by ACT Policing's 'cold case' team The reward for information leading to a conviction in any of the cases has been raised to $500,000. The oldest of the cases is the 13-year-old brutal murder of 72-year-old Canberra grandmother Irma Palasics. She and her husband Gregor were bound, gagged and viciously bashed during a home invasion in McKellar on November 6, 1999. Mrs Palasics was beaten to death, her husband survived. But their daughter, Liz Mikita, says two people died that night. Her father, severely injured, traumatised and grief stricken, died within the year. "They were virtually tortured that night," she said. "They were viciously attacked and unfortunately Mum didn't survive the attack. "Dad didn't want to but he had to live it seems for some reason, I don't know what." Just last week police announced a breakthrough in the case. They are seeking the public's help to identify four teenagers who broke into the Pitch and Putt at Phillip two years ago. Police say there is a link between the seemingly minor break-in and Mrs Palasics murder a decade earlier. But they cannot reveal the link for fear of jeopardising the investigation. Susan Winburn In several of the cold cases, like that of Susan Winburn, police have a very clear picture of what happened but cannot reveal all they know. The 45-year-old was last seen shopping at the Erindale pharmacy at 7:10pm on January 12, 2004. The next day her sister discovered her naked and strangled body in the bathtub of her Knoke Avenue home in Gordon. Ms Winburn disturbed a burglary at her home, but the three people involved have never been charged with her murder. "I suppose the problem for the members of the public is that we're not able to tell all the material that we've got," said head of the homicide squad Detective Sergeant Matt Innes. "We've got a very clear picture of what occurred, we're very, very close but we just need that single piece of information that may be thought to be immaterial to those people but to us it could be very important." Frank Campbell Police also have a person of interest in the murder case of taxi driver Frank Campbell. Mr Cambell's body was found in his Wilkins Street unit in Mawson on May 2, 2005. He died from blunt force trauma to the head. On the evening of his death, Mr Campbell had been drinking at the Mawson Club and was last seen alive by his flatmate at their home around 11:30pm. Police now hope the release of CCTV footage showing Mr Campbell leaving the Mawson Club will help jog people's memories. They are also searching for some clothing and work boots stolen from Mr Campbell's house at the time of the murder. At the time of the murder, two anonymous callers provided police with some clues but a lengthy police search of Mount Taylor and the Mugga Lane tip failed to turn up fresh evidence. Kathryn Grosvenor A renewed public focus has already yielded results in the murder case of Kathryn Grosvenor. The 23-year-old disappeared from her home in Nicholls on March 3, 2002. Six days later her naked body was found in Lake Burley Griffin in Yarralumla Bay, weighed down by a 28 kilogram concrete traffic bollard. She had been stabbed more than 60 times. Earlier this year a member of the public told how she saw two men loading the bollard into a black utility in Gungahlin on the day Ms Grosvenor disappeared. Conscience appeal Superintendent McCann is calling for the family and associates of the killers to consider their conscience and come forward. "There is no doubt that their family, friends and associates will know some information, will hold some suspicion in relation to what took place at these specific times," he said. "We're really imploring them to come forward and tell us what they know so that we can advance these homicide enquires." It is a call echoed by all the families of the victims. "We have gone through 13 years of nightmare," Ms Mikita said. "If you've got any heart at all, any conscience at all, give them up. They don't deserve to be around society, we don't need people like that." The cold case team says members of the public can also help by casting their minds back to the times of the murders and reporting anything unusual, even if it seems trivial. That trivial clue may complete a jigsaw and lead to a killer. "We make sort of superficial statements about giving the families closure and that sort of thing. They will never have closure, and we can't give them that," Detective Sergeant Innes said. "What we can do is put the people before the court and let the courts decide their fate. "That may give some comfort to the families to know that their loved one has finally had their day in court." The rewards for information leading to the successful resolution of any of the four murders have all be increased to $500,000. Police hope that the extra reward money will bring people forward and perhaps provide the vital clues needed to solve these gruesome crimes. For more on the latest appeal by police, watch Canberra's 7pm ABC News and 7.30 ACT tonight on ABC1. Category:Sep 2012 Category:ABC News (Australia)